Category Archives: Historical mystery

Makeup, Hairstyles and Clothing for Minoan Women

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What do we know about the cosmetics used by the women in Ancient Crete and the clothing they wore? Because we have no written records, archaeologists (and writers like me) are forced to rely on interpretations of murals, statuary and other art work.

Cosmetics were commonly used in the Ancient World: Egypt, the Middle Ages, and Asia. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, they were used by both men and women and all classes. Kohl was the most commonly used cosmetic. Kohl was made from galena, a dark gray ore and crushed charcoal, mixed with gum or water to make a paste. Cosmetics were so important cosmetic palettes were found buried in gold with the deceased’s grave goods.

Kohl was used for lining the eyes, like modern eyeliner. It offered health benefits in the form of protection from disease, bugs and sun rays. Red ochre clay was ground up and mixed with water to create a paste to paint on the lips and cheeks.

The murals also show the hairstyle fashionable at that time. Locks of hair were brought over the front of the shoulders. Most of the hair was drawn back from the forehead and decorated with pearls, gold beads or gems. Both sexes wore their hair in this manner.

Note in the graphic above the white ribbon at the back of the women’s necks. This was a sacral knot worn by the priestesses.

Finally, the murals and statuary depict a certain style of dress. All the women wear long skirts, usually ruffled or arranged in tiers, with a short short-sleeved jacket. Opinions vary about what women wore under the jacket. Were they nude or did they wear a blouse? It is difficult to tell from the artifacts available to us.

Below, a statue of a goddess or priestess holding snakes.


Minoan statue

Notice the elaborate belt around her wasp waist. Apparently, tiny waists were also the fashion and tight belts were worn to accentuate it. These wasp waists and tight belts were worn by men as well as by women.

This is the setting I use for In The Shadow of the Bull, a mystery set in Bronze Age Crete. Martis’s preference for more comfortable clothing, and only a loincloth when she is bull leaping, is frequently mentioned. As she grows up, she too adopts the tiered skirt with its tight belt and the short-sleeved jacket.

Challenges of writing Historical Fiction

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Writing Historical Fiction has some unique issues. (So does writing mysteries but those usually revolves around plot.) Conveying a compelling setting is one difficulty. The writer wants to make the reader feel the culture and the time period – without using the dreaded data dump. Descriptions must be seeded throughout the story like pepper grains, not lumped in a pile. And the descriptions of the clothing, the food, the buildings – they can’t stop the flow of the action. Believe me, this is hard. At best, the writer uses the setting in an organic manner. I wrapped my cloak around me against the cold rain – for example.

Second is the issue of characters. For example, in my latest book, In the Shadow of the Bull, Martis is fifteen. But that is just a child, right? As I discussed last week, age is relative. Even in this country, and not so long ago, girls were allowed to marry at fifteen – or even younger. Because girls married young, Martis knows she will be expected to marry in a few years. Her only escape is to follow the Virgin Goddess Artemis, and never marry.

Another challenge is culture. What language does the writer use? Language that was common not long ago is offensive now. While we may deplore that, it still asks a question: should a writer use language that was accurate to the time but offensive now? Any writer who sets a story in the past of the United States wrestles with this one.

Language ties in to the culture. In the past, and not a very distant past, a number of groups were marginalized. Writing a story in the 1950s South doesn’t mean that LBGTQ+ people didn’t exist, just that they were hiding. In Bronze Age Crete, current scholarship suggests a complicated structure of slavery. A child’s status might rest on where he or she was born rather than the status of the mother.

Finally, one of the most difficult issues to address is what the reader brings to the book. I have had disputes with readers about certain facts, despite verifying a fact with documentary proof. Some readers just know they are correct and will flame you for not agreeing with them. This is by far the most frustrating, especially since the writer does not know where these beliefs come from.

Outside of the usual difficulties of writing a book, (grammar, character development, plot, setting) the historical writer faces a raft of unique problems,